The SA Vehicle Industry Thread

Which top-10 automakers rely most on a single model?

Which of South Africa’s 10 best-selling automotive brands in July 2024 relied most on a single model? Let’s take a closer look at some intriguing sales statistics to find out…

Some automotive brands rely heavily on a single model, while others see their sales spread across several nameplates. Just how does this phenomenon play out between the most popular marques in South Africa? Well, we broke down the figures for Mzansi’s 10 best-selling brands in July 2024 to find out.

The calculation is a straight-forward one: simply take the sales effort of each firm’s best-selling model and divide it by that brand’s overall total for the month. Keep in mind that we used brand tallies here (for example, Volkswagen rather than the overall VW Group) and restricted this exercise to a single month. Right, let’s take a closer look at what turned out to be a fascinating set of figures…

1. D-Max for Isuzu – 79.2%

2. Ranger for Ford – 77.8%

3. Jolion for Haval – 75.3%

4. Tiggo 4 Pro for Chery – 67.8%

5. Magnite for Nissan – 55.8%

6. Grand i10 for Hyundai – 51.2%

7. Polo Vivo for VW – 45.2%

8. Kiger for Renault – 40.2%

9. Hilux for Toyota – 27.9%

10. Swift for Suzuki – 21.7%

 
FiestaST said:
How Indian-built cars have helped prevent an affordability crisis in South Africa

If you bought a relatively inexpensive car ten or 20 years back, chances are it was built in South Africa, Europe, Japan or South Korea.

Of course, today affordability feels more relative than ever as consumers drown under stubbornly high interest rates, sky-high fuel prices and a general cost of living that seems to laugh at what people earn nowadays.

But were it not for a certain country located about 8,000km to the north-east, things would be a lot worse for the entry-level car consumer in Mzansi.

In recent years India has become something of an industrial powerhouse, churning out relatively affordable cars that South Africans are lapping up in bigger numbers than ever.

India currently ranks as the fourth-largest automotive producer in the world. While most of its output is consumed domestically, South Africa is its biggest export market, accounting for 17.7% of the country’s vehicle exports in the last financial year, according to India Today.


www.indiatoday.in

Why South Africa’s love for Indian cars is crucial to economic growth

South Africa is the largest importer of Indian cars, with cars worth $1.54 billion sold in the 2022-23 financial year, which accounted for 17.7% of India's total vehicle exports that year.
www.indiatoday.in www.indiatoday.in
Click to expand...

I didn't realise that SA is the biggest export market for Indian cars, very interesting.

My dad had an India built Renault Duster and I have a Nissan Almera. While they aren't the most refined cars, the prices couldn't be beaten in their segments.

I wonder if the large number of India built cars could see 93 octane fuel sold at the coast. Most India built cars run on 91 octane.
 
South African vehicle exports hit a speed bump

Although South African domestic vehicle sales appear to be turning the corner, albeit slowly, export sales are showing a worrying decline.

According to Naamsa, just 25,461 vehicles were exported from SA in July, which is a 33.2% decline versus the same month last year.

Although that comparison is off a high base, the year-to-date trend is concerning, with local exports from January to July 2024 being 13.5% below the corresponding period in 2023.

Naamsa attributes the decline to adverse weather conditions during July as well as declining sales to Europe, which is the country’s largest export market.

This is likely due to weak economic conditions in that region, with the Eurozone GDP having grown by just 0.3% during the second quarter of 2024, while Germany’s GDP contracted by 0.1%.

 
Jaecoo and Omoda release SA sales figures for July – here’s how they performed

Chinese vehicle brands are posing an increasing threat to the establishment, with Chery and GWM now regular fixtures in the monthly top 10 list of carmakers.

However, until now Chery’s Omoda and Jaecoo brands, which are marketed separately from their parent company, have left us in the dark about their monthly sales performances.

That changed in July when the two brands started reporting their sales figures to Naamsa, revealing that the Omoda C5 compact crossover found 224 homes last month, while the more recently launched Jaecoo J7 midsize SUV garnered 198 sales.

This means as a combined entity, with 422 passenger car sales, Omoda and Jaecoo outsold established carmakers from Europe and Japan, such as Stellantis (407), Mazda (240) and Mitsubishi (124), and came close to Mercedes-Benz, which moved just 472 units in July.

The Chery brand still dominated the Chinese vehicle sales charts with its Tiggo 4 Pro (1,153), Tiggo 7 Pro (338) and Tiggo 8 Pro (210), while GWM put on an impressive performance with its recently revised Jolion (868) and H6 (285). BAIC’s top seller was the Beijing X55, with 124 sales.

 
Rising vehicle costs weigh heavily on South African consumers

An analysis of South Africa’s best-selling vehicles in July reveals a significant overlap between the average new loan amount and the most popular cars on the market.

This suggests that even as consumers face rising costs, there remains a strong demand for certain vehicles, although the financial burden on buyers continues to grow.

The latest Industry Insights Report from TransUnion shows that the average new vehicle loan amount in South Africa reached R395,292 in the second quarter of 2024, up from R387,000 in Q1 of 2023.

This rise in loan amounts is a direct response to the escalating costs of new vehicles, pushing consumers to borrow more to afford their desired models.

Recent figures from WesBank also reveal a concerning trend in rising vehicle costs, making it increasingly difficult for consumers to afford new vehicles and causing them to either extend their financial commitments, hold on to their older cars or look into the pre-owned car market.

WesBank's data further highlights the financial strain on consumers. In June of this year, the average loan amount for a new vehicle increased by 3.5%, while the average deal duration rose by 3.8% to over 51 months.

 
Here’s how much your shiny new car can depreciate over time

It’s common knowledge that any new car you take delivery of after signing on the dotted line will depreciate the second you drive off the showroom floor.

But exactly how much does your ride depreciate over time?

That depends on a myriad of factors, including the make and model as well as how well you look after your car.

According to Mark Ridgway, Chief Technical Officer at GetWorth, an average car is likely to depreciate by around 10% the minute you take ownership. Because once it’s classified as used, it’s used.

After one year of ownership, a car should depreciate by between 15% and 20%. GetWorth data suggests, while five years should take off around 30% to 40%.

 
SA’s motor industry could be in for a welcome boost, says dealer association

South Africa’s general inflation rate has reached its lowest level in three years, and this could bode well for a potential interest rate cut in July.

On Wednesday, Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) said the country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) had eased to 4.6% year-on-year, down from 5.1% in June.

This has led to widespread hopes that the South African Reserve Bank would begin its eagerly-anticipated interest rate cutting cycle from September.

Lower interest rates, coupled with the anticipated fuel price reductions, would provide a much needed boost to South Africa’s motor vehicle industry, as the overall cost of vehicle ownership would be reduced, says Brandon Cohen, chairperson of the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA).

“For consumers, a potential interest rate cut by the South African Reserve Bank in September could lead to more affordable financing options for purchasing vehicles.

 
Next Toyota Hilux will have more SA-built parts, following R1.1bn Ogihara investment

KwaZulu-Natal’s automotive components manufacturing industry has received a R1.1 billion boost through a new joint venture between Toyota Motors South Africa, Toyota Tsusho Africa and Ogihara Thailand Corporation.

Ogihara SA was registered in 2023 to manufacture automotive components for the localisation efforts of Toyota SA’s next generation Hilux.

The company’s new 32,000 square metre site at Dube TradePort’s TradeZone 2 will include a manufacturing and assembly plant relocated from Thailand to produce pressed steel components for Toyota SA’s vehicle manufacturing plant in Prospecton.

The venture will phase in the sourcing of additional local press parts that are currently imported. This significant step will not only boost local industry capabilities and economic growth but will also lead to an increase of 25,000 tons a year in locally procured steel.

It is one of the largest localisation projects undertaken by Toyota SA to date and an important benchmark for further large-scale localisation projects under consideration.

 
Mahindra to expand its Durban-based bakkie assembly operation with larger facility

Mahindra South Africa has announced that it will soon begin construction of a new bakkie assembly facility alongside its existing site at the Dube Trade Port in Durban.

The new and larger facility will cover 14,000 square metres and will increase the Indian carmaker’s local capacity to around 1,000 units.

Like the existing facility it forms part of a joint venture between Mahindra and Auto Investment Holding Group.

Construction is expected to be completed by June 2025, but at this stage there is no official confirmation on whether the company’s new-generation global Pik Up will be built there.

 
This is the average price of a used vehicle in SA, as sales buck new car downward trend

The average price of a used car in South Africa is R445,181, according to the 2024 AutoTrader Mid-Year Car Industry Report.

The report showed that used vehicle sales in the first half of 2024 increased by 2.2% versus the corresponding period of 2023. This is in contrast to the 6.9% decrease in new car sales in the first half of 2024 (H1), as recorded by Naamsa - The Automotive Business Council.

Used electric vehicle sales were up 8.8% year-on-year, albeit off a low base.

Interestingly, the report also noted that while Chinese brands are expected to account for up to 20% of the new vehicle market by the end of 2024, this trend is not yet reflective in used car advert views, according to AutoTrader.

The website recorded over 328 million used vehicle searches during the first of this 2024, up 5% year-on-year.

 
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